Once the holidays are over, there never seems to be any reason to shop. Consumers have already spent significant sums of money on holiday gifts, and until the weather starts to get warmer, everyone is bundled up with hoodies and sweatpants. One great way to get consumers back in your store and spending money again is through flash sales.
Flash sales are different from regular sales in three specific ways: discounts and promotions are notably better than what your business usually offers, the timespan of a flash sale is much shorter than your store’s normal sale window, and a limited selection of products are on sale, often combined with reduced stock availability. All of these factors are considered when a shopper receives that flash sale notification, making them eager to snag whatever goodies you are offering before the deal is gone.
Personalize Your Flash Sales
Flash sales have been used by retailers for years, and after a while, the same deals and discounts can become pretty mundane. Today’s consumer is looking for a personalized experience, and in order to compete with other brands, indie retailers need to give shoppers that unique experience to make them stand out. Bagrat Safaryan, CEO and Co-Founder of LocalExpress, says that indie retailers now need to make their flash sales more personalized to continue to compete with big brands.
“Studies show that after a while, consumers get tired of seeing the same flash sales over and over again, so we need to evolve the sales to be more personalized,” Safaryan said. “You cannot use the same product and sale as everyone else — you need to be able to use the customer data that is out there. Once you have customer data, you can craft the campaigns to personalize or curate certain items together to make the sale more enticing and valuable to the shoppers.”
Ensure Customers’ Safety
Another way to perfect your flash sales is to emphasize safety for consumers when they come in store. According to insights from Faire, almost half of retailers are going to be running promotions once the holidays are over, so you need to make your sale stand out from the rest. Here are some ways to attract customers:
- Let them know you are implementing strict social distancing measures
- Offer personal shopping appointments so you never have to worry about crowds
- Offer more efficient ways to shop, such as curbside pickup or buy online, pick up in store
Email Is Still King
Digital flyers, such as emails, are great ways to inform customers about your flash sale, and they are not going out of style anytime soon. “Back in March, we conducted a global study with eConsultancy on consumer behavior,” Richard Jones, CMO of Cheetah Digital, said. “Seventy-seven percent of U.S. respondents said they made a purchase because of an email they received, compared to 22% who purchased from a text message. We also found that email drove 180% more sales than display ads (online and in-app). Needless to say, email is still king for consumers.”
Geofencing Marketing
Another new and innovative way to personalize your flash sale is by creating a personalized target promotion. This means that any consumers who are within a given geographic area of your store will receive a notification of any in-store specials and deals to lure them in. Safaryan says that this additional feature is great because consumers feel they are not one in a million people getting a certain promotion. Instead, because they are in your area, they are receiving this personalized deal.
This specific type of sales targeting creates urgency and makes the customer want to come into the store. There are many different companies to help retailers set up these special location-based advertising tactics, and most will not break the bank. The pricing all depends on your needed features, and typically ranges between $4-$14 CPM (cpm = cost per thousand impressions).